1. Description of Prior Art
The minivan designs, especially those sold by the Chrysler Corporation since 1984, optimize passenger space and cargo space. Space in these vehicles for storage and transporting of sundry articles for safety, convenience and emergency automobile repair, however is minimum. The spare tire well, which in station wagons and sedans, provides out-of-sight space for such items as jumper cables, break down flares or reflectors, fire extinguisher, gloves, first aid kit and like objects, is not incorporated in the minivan design. Nor is the trunk space of a sedan available.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,718,584 , 4,540,213 and others teach methods for organizing and utilizing the deck area in the hatchback style vehicle, station wagons and, by extension, minivans with one or both bench seats removed. These patents teach provisions for supporting packages such as grocery bags but do not provide permanent, out-of-sight storage which does not encroach upon passenger or cargo space.
Other means of augmenting the contained storage capacity for sundry articles in land vehicles do not address the efficient utilization of the waste space under the bench seats of Chrysler minivans and similar vehicles. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,200 provides for a storage container detachably located in front of a seat under the legs of a passenger. Numerous patents provide storage and beverage holders on, between or accessible from the front seats. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,809,897 and 4,848,627 are examples.
An application has been made to the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, dated Nov. 4, 1991 for a Design Patent for this invention entitled UNDER-SEAT SLIDABLE STORAGE CONTAINER FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.